>>>>>>>>>NEWS FLASH<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Jim will be giving a talk on the backstory of Disney's animated film "Frozen" at the Bloomingdale Branch of the New York Public Library on Saturday, May 16th.
There's still time to sign up by sending email to events@etccustomevents.com.

By now, you've no doubt heard about what happened at Disney's Hollywood Studios this past Friday night. How a New Year's Eve-sized crowd turned out for this " Limited Time Magic " event. Which led to some pretty interesting challenges for the very unlucky WDW cast members who were...

Since sinkholes are back in the news again in Central Florida , Hungry Howie was inspired to drop me a line earlier today to ask about the sinkhole that almost swallowed EPCOT Center back during the construction of that theme park: For years now, I've been hearing stories about EPCOT's sinkhole...

"The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray." This oft-quoted line from Robert Burns ' 1785 poem applies to an awful lot of aspects of modern day life. But none more so than the work that's recently been done in & around WDW 's Magic Kingdom Park . Take -- for example...

The Internet is really a wondrous place. Especially if you're a young person who's considering a career in animation. If you've ever considered becoming a character designer someday, you can always swing by Tom Bancroft 's Character Mentor Studio or Stephen Silver's blog and then...

The Tinker Bell drone that Disneyland almost got Over the past week or so, there have been a number of stories out there about media companies and drone technology. With TMZ insisting that it wasn't really in the market for a celebrity-seeking missile, Mid-Missouri NPR affiliate KBIA revealed that...

I have to admit that I'm kind of a sucker for all of these castle shows that Disney has begun doing in the Magic Kingdom . Whether it's draping this iconic structure with over 200,000 lights to turn it into a wintery wonder for the "Cinderella's Holiday Wish / Castle Dream Lights"...

It's been a very interesting week to be in Orlando. What with IAAPA 's Attractions Expo currently being loaded into the Orange County Convention Center . Photo by Jim Hill Out in the parking lot, all manner of sample amusement park rides are still being assembled. Photo by Jim Hill While inside...

Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been? My apologies for JHM basically being on hold these past few days. But I've been out in Southern California since Saturday morning working. Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did you do there? Copyright DreamWorks Animation LLC. All rights reserved Len Testa and...

The moon was shining bright this past Saturday night ... Photo by Jim Hill ... as more than 10,000 runners lined up at the toll plaza for Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park ... Photo by Jim Hill ... eager to take part in the inaugural run of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler race. Mind...

Chris B. wrote in on September 10th to say Hi Mr. Hill, Great website and so appreciate how you share your Disney knowledge. With the opening of the New Fantasyland Disney has installed a statue for Beauty and the Beast's Gaston. Disney villains have typically only been out and about for the Halloween...

My apologies, folks. I know that JHM has been extremely light on content this past week or so. But I have been traveling. Dear Lord, have I been traveling. I wonder how many Frequent Flyer miles The Dreamfinder racked up while he was flying this contraption around EPCOT Center's Kodak pavilion? Copyright...

PixiePal 225 recently wrote into say: I've been following the Fantasyland expansion project at WDW's Magic Kingdom for a couple of years now. And while I love the level of design and attention to detail that I've been seeing in the completed portions of Storybook Circus, as a Tinkerbell fan...

"You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality" -- Walt Disney And when it comes to next week's "One More Disney Day" event (which will run from 6 a.m. Wednesday, February 29th right through to 6 a.m...

I have to admit that It's been kind of amusing to watch the reaction (both here and elsewhere around the Web) that Tuesday's "What's really behind the sudden change in Disney Parks & Resorts' facial hair policy" story has been getting. With all sorts of would-be Disney scholars...

January used to be the start of the slow season at the stateside Disney Parks. How so? So slow that - immediately after New Year's Day -- Disneyland Park wouldn't even open on Mondays & Tuesdays. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved Which -- as far as the maintenance crew...

Wow. Has it really been 15+ years since Beth Dunlop wrote " Building a Dream: The Art of Disney Architecture " ? Obviously Disney's world has gotten a whole lot bigger since 1996. Which is why I think it's terrific that Disney Editions recently decided to revisit Dunlop's book....

I know, I know. It's the holidays. So hearing people go "Ho-Ho-Ho" this time of year isn't all that unusual. But that steady wave of laughter which has been rolling out of the ABC Sound Studio at Disney's Hollywood Studios since this past Sunday, that IS kind of unusual. Especially...

This week's first Why For question comes from Buddy W. Who asks about a change that was made to one of Disney's Animal Kingdom 's opening day attractions: It seems like "Countdown to Extinction" was tamed down when they changed it to " DINOSAUR ." Besides the movie coming...

It's the joke that senior members of Mouse House management have never found to be all that funny. That it now costs so much to vacation at the WDW Resort they should probably change the name of the place to Wallet Disney World. (L to R) Larry Silverstein, president and CEO of Silverstein Properties;...

"You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen ..." Well, if you're a Disney history buff, then you must already know about Walt's land searches of the early 1950s. As Disney tried to find just the right spot in Southern California for his family fun park . Likewise if you're...